Look Both Ways

I knew that something was going to happen in this weeks episode to land Carol in the care of the people at the Grady Memorial, but not knowing when made it agonizing to watch. I jumped a foot when her and Daryl were sitting in the car and a walker slammed on her window!

I probably should have anticipated that it wouldn’t happen until the end of the episode, but Carol is just such an important character at this point that it made me anxious to know her life might be in danger. Carol has changed a lot since season 1, so let’s take a look back at how Carol has evolved over the years.

Does everyone remember season 1 Carol? Quiet, meek, and living in fear of her abusive husband, Ed.

I barely even remember her from the beginning. She was the character you felt sympathetic for, for having to go through what so many women struggle with. We saw Ed hit her on-screen, which led to Shane beating him nearly to death. We learned in this weeks episode that she had left him at one point and taken her daughter, Sophia, to a shelter. She went back to him shortly after.

After his death early in the series, and the unfortunate death of her daughter, Carol transformed. By season 3, Carol was an active member of the group, no longer quiet and scared. Perhaps it was because she felt like she had nothing left to lose.

In season 4, Carol became a cold, hard, realist. She secretly taught all the children how to defend themselves against walkers using knives, and admitted to Rick that she killed Karen and David to try to stop their illness from spreading to other members of the group. Rick exiled Carol from the group to protect her from Tyreese, and this is when she changed the most. She learned how to survive on her own, and grew into an independent, fearless woman. When reunited with Tyreese, she told him that it was her who killed Karen and David, and offered him the chance to kill her. Fearless.

Season 5 Carol is badass Carol. Completely unrecognizable from season 1 Carol. She isn’t afraid of anything or anyone; she took out nearly every human and walker in Terminus to save the members of the group that abandoned her. Reunited and readmitted into the group, Carol has her post-apocalyptic family back.

But can this new, independent, season 5 Carol live in a group? She tried to sneak off into the night just a few weeks ago. Daryl asked her what she was going to do, and she simply said, “I don’t know.”

So what is going to happen to Carol? If you saw the bonus clip during Talking Dead, it isn’t looking good. Carol is a fan favorite, so there would be a lot of outrage if something were to happen to her. Hopefully she recovers so her and Beth can escape Grady Memorial and Officer Dawn Lerner.

And everyone, please look both ways before crossing the street, even in the apocalypse. Especially in the apocalypse.